Anantapur district topped the entire State in operationalising the majority of Village and Ward Secretariats and also received the highest number of service requests from people on their first day.
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“On Republic Day - the first day of Village and Ward Secretariats going functional, out of 2,999 requests for services received all over the State, 1,180 were from Anantapur district alone,” explained District Collector Gandham Chandrudu jubilantly.
In majority of the districts, the number of requests did not cross even double digits, with Kurnool being the worst at just 11. Kadapa seconded it with 42 requests and Guntur and Krishna districts registered only 67 and 60 requests as Secretariats were not functional.
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“The digital, education and welfare assistants had undergone a week’s training session and completed requests from the people so that they could be all-ready on their first day at work,” Mr. Chandrudu added. During a surprise visit to a couple of village secretariats in Bukkarayasamudram mandal on Monday, while he appreciated the zeal with which the newly-appointed secretariat staff tried to learn their work, he observed that the office layout design at many places was not user-friendly.
“Our focus is to make internet connectivity operational at offices at least a week before the formal launch of the online ‘Citizen Services’ programme,” Mr. Chandrudu said. At the Bukkarayasamudram village secretariat - 1, Mr. Chandrudu along with A.P. School Education Reforms Committee CEO A. Sambasiva Reddy, expressed happiness at the way the staff was motivated and handling a large number of requests as it caters to closely 7,500 population.
Calling the entire exercise of creating village/ward secretariats revolutionary, Mr. Chandrudu said now pensions were being disbursed within five to six hours instead of 10 to 13 days.